The principal if not the only difference between the 350SD and SDL was the "L" part. The SDL was about 6 or 7 inches longer and boy did it give the rear passenger some leg room. Each was a splendid car, but each suffered from the now infamous 6 cylinder #603.970 diesel engine that had an often fatal design defect. Mercedes knew about the defect but kept using the engine anyhow, hoping that the problem of soaring oil consumtion wouldn't show up until the car was "out of warranty". At that point, MB USA would tell the owner, as they did us, where they could go. It was the beginning of the end for the Daimler Benz Company. In the mid-1990's, they decided to scrap the fine company they once were and to begin building plastic junk they knew they could sell if it but had the nose star. It woorked, as most scams, do, for a while, but, like all scams, it didn't work on everyone and it certainly did a job on their repeat buyers. We owned 8 of their cars but there will never be 9th I can assure you.
I know this is a long answer to a simple question. I felt I owed it to whomever might see this to alert them to the fact that the Daimler Benz Company that built the beautiful cars of yesteryear is gone forever. You will never be able to buy anything such as the W140 again. If you doubt this, go to a dealer and see just how much of their new cars are plastic. Ask if you you get a spare tire and why the owner's manual has to be 500 pages and whuy is has two batteries, one of which is bound to fail in the first year of operation. You can't use the heated seats in winter nor the air conditioning in summer. The cars they build today are fragile and break down more often than oil tankers leak.
Good luck to anyone buying a Mercedes today and better luck to anyone looking to MB USA for help.
Richard E. savoy
Salem, MA

We were Mercedes diesel buyers from our 1976 240D right throught our calamitous involvement with the 1991 350SDL. The car was a masterpiece of engineering and aesthetic beauty. It was a 3,800 lb. ca...

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